


Best Kept Secrets

by thealphagate_archivist



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Vignette, challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-26
Updated: 2006-03-26
Packaged: 2019-02-02 04:33:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12719757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thealphagate_archivist/pseuds/thealphagate_archivist
Summary: Response to The Alpha Gate's FNF Challenge #21: "Silence is Golden" Writer Challenge: Write the fic from the point of view of the character most difficult for you to write.





	Best Kept Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> Note from the archivists: this story was originally archived at [The Alpha Gate](https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Alpha_Gate), a Stargate SG-1 archive, which began migration to the AO3 in 2017 when its hosting software, eFiction, was no longer receiving support. To preserve the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. We e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are this creator and it hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Alpha Gate collection profile](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/thealphagate).

They assume I don't know.

Or rather, Doctor Jackson assumes I don't know. Colonel O'Neill is much too cautious to misconstrue the situation that badly. He meets my eyes now, glancing up from where he's been watching over Doctor Jackson, his chair pulled so close to the infirmary bed that his knees are almost touching the mattress. It's a tribute to his distress that he didn't sense my presence until I was already almost at his side. His hand is resting over Doctor Jackson's, unobtrusively intimate, and I pretend not to notice it. To Jack's credit, he doesn't bother trying to pull away.

"Sir." he acknowledges, wearily starting to rise. I raise my hand and he relaxes slightly, gratitude edging in to join the carefully blunted concern in his eyes. There's an assessing look there now, a glimmer of shared knowledge surfacing before he turns back to Doctor Jackson, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest intently.

"Any improvement, Colonel?" I asked finally, loathe to break the quiet but seeing no other option, considering that Doctor Fraiser is nowhere in sight.

"No, Sir. No change." he replies neutrally, the "yet" implied and unmistakable in his tone. I nod, knowing he's still watching me from his peripheral vision. I've already debriefed him, so there's really no reason to call him away from the infirmary. I wouldn't consider it anyway, except that dark circles have appeared under his eyes and a good day's worth of stubble is dusting his jaw. Quite frankly, he looks like hell. And, regardless of the fact that I sympathize with him wholeheartedly, I can't have him running himself ragged.

"Colonel O'Neill, you're mentally and physically exhausted. Doctor Jackson's current condition is stable, and he's in very capable hands. Now, I want you to go get yourself cleaned up and get some sleep before Doctor Fraiser has to pick you up off the floor." I tell him, frowning and raising an open palm to stall his protests. "That's an order, Colonel." He sighs and nods tiredly, the chair legs scratching against the floor as he stands.

"Yes, Sir." he agrees, casting one last, conflicted look at Doctor Jackson before starting for the door. I sigh quietly, reaching out to touch his shoulder. He freezes, his back tensing as he turns his head faintly. Cautious. Waiting.

"Take one of the rooms here on the base." I add, softening my tone slightly, "I'll have Doctor Fraiser page you if there's any new development." He turns all the way around and looks at me, surprised and slightly wary. I meet his gaze steadily and the wariness dies, his mouth pulling up tiredly.

"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir." he replies, saluting sloppily. It's sarcastic, but not insulting. A subtle irony that makes me smile back. The understanding is in his eyes again, and the gratitude is stronger. I nod, just once. Very faintly. Telling him with a gesture what I could never say officially. The brown eyes warm and his expression softens, making him look much younger than I know for a fact he is. I give his shoulder another firm pat and drop my hand.

"Get some sleep, son." I order, "Don't let me catch you back in this infirmary unless you've had some significant sleep in the meantime."

"Yes, Sir." he says, doing an abrupt bout-face and - yes, by god - swaggering out of the infirmary. I can't say I'm all that taken aback. The day that man acts in a professional manner is the day I order all personnel to check the base for pods. In our line of work, it wouldn't be unheard of. I shake my head and turn around, sighing as I look down at Doctor Jackson. He's pale, but I believe he'll pull through. He's a resilient man, if nothing else, and Colonel O'Neill won't settle for anything less than a full recovery. I resist the urge to smooth out the sheet and settle for tapping the mattress instead, giving him one last look before turning to leave. "George?" Jack's voice calls softly, stopping me a few steps from the bed. I turn around, meeting Jack's eyes from where he's poked his head back into the infirmary. "Thanks." he says, and it's sincere this time, quiet and layered with meaning. I nod and he vanishes as quickly as he appeared, disappearing down the corridor. It's more than I expected... more than I'm really comfortable acknowledging, to be honest. The protective weight in my stomach warms slightly, and I rationalize it away, for now, attributing it to unique individuals and extraordinary times. Special circumstances granted to men who've more than earned their share of slack. Earned whatever happiness they can find...even if it's only in one another.

Maybe, especially then.

I watch the empty space he's left and shake my head slowly, turning to look for Doctor Fraiser, who's probably in her lab in the back. The Colonel will want to be here when Doctor Jackson regains consciousness. As, I admit to myself silently, he should be.

The best kept secrets are the ones worth keeping, after all.


End file.
